


Slip {art}

by altocello



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Digital Painting, Fanart, Gen, Intense gaze, contains no actual whump, imminent potential whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 0
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altocello/pseuds/altocello
Summary: Ben, lit only by the light of the moon, one hand holding onto a drainpipe for dear life, looking up at Rey with pleading eyes as he realizes he can't get back up on the roof and his grip is slipping.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 19





	Slip {art}

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Cream](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17732753) by [animal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/animal/pseuds/animal). 



> > "He turns around. The ball of his foot slips on the wet concrete. 
>> 
>> He falls without a sound, like the snow falling. One moment he's there, standing tall right in front of her -the next, there's nothing. She screams. 
>> 
>> "No!!!" 
>> 
>> She throws herself at the wall and leans against it, to look down. 
>> 
>> He's _there._
>> 
>> Gripping tightly at the end of a bent, rusty steel bar sticking out of the concrete wall, seven feet below her. Taut with terror, his whole body hangs rigid in the empty space beneath him. His shoulders tremble, but he's barely breathing, his ribs stuck. He's as white as a sheet. 
>> 
>> His eyes confusedly go from her, to the edge of the wall, to the bar he's clinging to, then back to her, blinking, desperate to find a solution. No move is attempted. There's nothing near him to put a foot on and help him climb back up. He might be able to hoist himself up, but he's too low to reach the edge of the roof. She cannot reach him, and if she could, she wouldn't be able to pull him up. Even with all the adrenaline coursing her body and threatening to cause a cardiac arrest, he's too heavy.  
>    
> "Change back," She whispers, her nails painfully digging into the concrete. She whispers it, as if speaking any louder could cause him to let go.  
>    
> It's an idea that isn't digested. It's not a plan. It's just all she has, there's nothing else to try.  
>    
> He grunts, his brows furrowed, looking right at her. The knuckles of his fingers are turning dangerously white. He's losing his grip.  
>    
> "Turn back into your other form," she says more insistently, her neck straining toward him, teeth gritting. "Do it, baby, come on."  
>    
> "I can't," he quietly says -so quietly he's almost mouthing it. He seems to be in the process of fully grasping what his situation entails -and what awaits him.  
>    
> "Yes, you can--" she swears, with somewhat a semblance of control at first, before desperation causes her voice to suddenly rise: "Do it, just turn back!"  
>    
> "I can't."  
>    
> His fingers slip around the bar."
> 
> This was another image that popped into my head and wouldn't leave (in case it isn't obvious, that happens a lot, reading is a very visual process for me). It's been rattling around in there ever since I first read that bit, a few weeks ago, but I needed time to work up the courage to tackle it, because I knew the anatomy involved would give me fits. I was right, lol, but this is how we grow, right? By challenging ourselves.
> 
> I knew exactly which photos of Adam I wanted to use as the reference, but he's wearing a sweater, and our dear Ben is naked. Much google image searching ensued, and it turns out this is a weirdly specific and unusual camera angle, pose, and (lack of) clothing, lol. I wouldn't have worried about it too much, but I've never actually taken a figure drawing course (no art degree!), and this is a fairly contorted pose with a lot of foreshortening. I did eventually, with some help (thank you @starseedcomic!) find something close enough to reassure me that I wasn't so far off. Tweaking his expression from the one in the reference to this was a doddle by comparison; this is where thirty-seven study portraits and a ream of references really pays off.
> 
> Now, go read the fic. Go on, go!

[ ](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/starwars/cream.jpg)

[](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/starwars/cream-eyes.jpg) [](http://inkwellfiction.com/cello/starwars/cream-mouth.jpg)

**Author's Note:**

> [Say Hi on Twitter!](https://twitter.com/altocello)   
>  [You can also find me and my art on Tumblr.](https://artocello.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Comments and kudos are always sincerely appreciated!


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